Flock series, part 2
HANCEVILLE, Ala. – Hanceville’s four-camera Flock Safety system became part of the city’s law enforcement transition after officials dissolved the Hanceville Police Department and turned law enforcement authority over to the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office early last year.
This is part 2 of The Cullman Tribune’s series examining Flock Safety automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras in the Cullman area. Part 1 focused on the Cullman Police Department. Part 3 will focus on the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office.
This article focuses on Hanceville’s Flock camera system, the transfer authorization after the Hanceville Police Department was dissolved and records or responses related to Wallace State Community College.
Source materials for this article include:
- Hanceville Police Department dissolution documents
- Text messages
- A mayoral transfer letter
- City payment records
- Alabama Power records
- County invoices related to deputy overtime coverage
- A Flock Safety amendment to the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office agreement
The Tribune is not publishing a full map of camera locations or camera angles. Hanceville’s records identify four Flock cameras at or near the Alabama Highway 91 and U.S. Highway 31 intersection.
Hanceville Police Department dissolved
Ordinance No. 2026-2, adopted by the Hanceville City Council on Feb. 12, 2026, abolished the Hanceville Police Department, eliminated all positions within the department, shifted law enforcement authority to CCSO and authorized the mayor to negotiate any necessary transition agreements.
It also addressed police department records, including:
- Police records
- Incident reports
- Evidence logs
- Citations
- Administrative files
- Related documents
Those records were to be secured and maintained in compliance with Alabama records retention laws.
The mayor was authorized to designate an appropriate agency, contractor or CCSO to assume custody, storage or archiving of the records.
CCSO’s authority within Hanceville’s corporate limits and police jurisdiction includes:
- Patrol
- Investigation
- Arrest authority
- Response to calls for service
Hanceville’s Flock camera system became one of the operational issues addressed after the department was dissolved.
Four cameras at 91/31
Hanceville had four Flock cameras at or near the Alabama Highway 91 and U.S. Highway 31 intersection.
A March 24 text message screenshot shows Mayor Nolan Bradford asking Sheriff Matt Gentry about the system.
The message said the city understood CCSO could still access data from the cameras even though Hanceville no longer could. It also stated there was a monthly cost of approximately $850.
Bradford asked whether the sheriff’s office would be willing to pay some or all of that cost until Hanceville got a police department back.
“I hate to have them disconnected if they have value,” the message said.
Gentry responded that he believed the State of Alabama could access the cameras. He also asked how many cameras Hanceville had. The response was four.
A later message attributed to IT said the cameras appeared to be the Hanceville cameras. It said CCSO could access them but did not have control over them.
The same message said CCSO could absorb the cameras with:
- A copy of the police department dissolution
- A letter from Hanceville’s mayor authorizing the transfer
Transfer letter signed April 1
On April 1, Bradford signed a letter to Gentry authorizing the transfer of the four Flock cameras at the 91/31 intersection from the City of Hanceville to CCSO.
The letter said Hanceville would pay all Alabama Power invoices through March 31.
An email from Bradford to Gentry that same morning said the letter and the signed police department dissolution ordinance were attached.
A separate Flock Safety amendment dated April 17, 2026, amended the agreement between Flock and AL – Cullman County SO.
The amendment listed:
- Four Flock Safety LPR fixed Falcon cameras
- A $12,000 annual recurring subtotal
- An amendment to the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office agreement
The materials show Hanceville authorized transfer of the cameras and CCSO’s Flock agreement was amended to add four cameras.
The March 24 text message estimated the monthly cost at approximately $850. The later Flock Safety amendment listed four fixed Falcon cameras with a $12,000 annual recurring subtotal.
The provided materials do not include a separate final confirmation from Flock stating the exact date the transfer was completed inside the system.
Costs tied to transition and camera system
The Hanceville records include Alabama Power and city expense documents tied to the “Flock System.” They also include documents showing Hanceville was billed by the Cullman County Commission for deputy overtime coverage before the police department was formally dissolved.
The county invoices included:
- Jan. 1, 2026: $2,014.29 for December 2025 deputy overtime coverage, including 47.75 overtime hours, $1,728.71 in overtime and $285.58 in FICA and retirement benefits
- Feb. 1, 2026: $2,726.46 for January 2026 deputy overtime coverage, including 61 overtime hours, $2,339.91 in overtime and $386.55 in FICA and retirement benefits
April 2026 city payment documents also list Alabama Power entries described as “Flock System” expenses, including one for $2,343 and another for $233.06.
The cameras remained a budget and operational issue as Hanceville dissolved its police department and shifted law enforcement authority to CCSO.
The documents provided for this installment do not show whether Hanceville paid any Flock subscription costs after the April 1 transfer letter. They also do not show whether Hanceville retained any user access after the transfer was authorized.
Wallace State Community College
Wallace State Community College is included in this part of the series because its campus police department operates in Hanceville and because the campus is part of the same local public safety environment.
The master materials reviewed for this installment did not include the same level of Wallace State-specific documentation provided for CPD, CCSO and Hanceville.
They did not include a Wallace State Flock Safety order form, invoice, camera list, audit log, sharing spreadsheet or written ALPR policy.
A prior Tribune editorial noted Wallace State Community College elected to respond to questions about Flock Safety cameras without requiring a formal records request.
“There are four Flock cameras on campus,” Wallace State President Dr. Vicki Karolewics said. “The cameras help monitor vehicles that could be flagged for safety issues or concerns.”
The college has said the cameras are used as a campus safety measure, including to monitor for vehicles that may be tied to threats involving students, educators, staff or students who live on campus.
What the records show and do not show
The records show:
- Hanceville had four Flock cameras at or near the Alabama Highway 91 and U.S. Highway 31 intersection.
- The cameras were discussed after Hanceville dissolved its police department and transferred law enforcement authority to CCSO.
- Hanceville officials believed CCSO could access data from the cameras even though Hanceville no longer could.
- A later IT message said CCSO could access the cameras but did not have control over them.
- Bradford signed an April 1 letter authorizing transfer of the four cameras to CCSO.
- A Flock Safety amendment dated April 17 added four fixed Falcon cameras to the CCSO agreement with a $12,000 annual recurring subtotal.
- The camera system became part of the broader law enforcement handoff after the city abolished its police department.
The records provided for this installment do not show:
- A separate final confirmation from Flock stating the exact date the transfer was completed inside the system
- Whether Hanceville retained any user access after the transfer authorization
- Whether Hanceville paid any Flock subscription costs after the April 1 transfer letter
- A Hanceville-specific audit log from before the department was dissolved
- A Hanceville-specific user or access permission list after the transfer
- A public outcome report listing cases, arrests, recoveries or prosecutions directly tied to the Hanceville cameras
- Wallace State-specific contracts, order forms, invoices, camera lists, policies, audit logs or sharing records in the master materials for this installment
The records show that questions about who can access, control, pay for and audit local Flock cameras can change when law enforcement authority shifts from one agency to another.
Part 3 of this series will examine the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office Flock system, including CCSO’s contracts, policy, audit records, shared-network document and the four Hanceville cameras added to the county agreement.
Read part 1 at www.cullmantribune.com/2026/07/07/records-show-cullman-police-departments-flock-camera-system-expanded-as-retention-policy-changed.
